Published: Friday, August 29, 2014 at 07:30 AM.

BEULAVILLE | This is how East Duplin coach Liz Turner wants – no expects – to see her Panthers play volleyball.

After a performance not up to her liking in a five-set victory at Wallace-Rose Hill on Tuesday, Turner sent her team through a tough practice, and the Panthers responded with solid 3-0 win over Jacksonville, beating the Cardinals 25-13, 25-18, 25-20 on Thursday night in a nonconference match.

“Tonight I think was an awesome game,” Turner said after her Panthers ran their record to 4-0. “Tonight was the type of game we really needed. We came off of a flat, five-set win over Wallace, and myself nor the girls were pleased with the way we played, our energy, our communication, really nothing about that game. All of our stat columns were really bad. and everything tonight was turned around.

“I have a young team that kind of struggles some with getting down on their selves. So it was a really good comeback game. This was a confidence boost that set the tone and standard for how we need to play from here on out, and what I expect. They saw more of my expectations tonight and they understood that better."

That understanding may have come Wednesday at practice.

“Against Wallace, it wasn’t our best game,” said junior Whitney Medlin, who had a game-high 12 kills. “We had a hard practice the other day and I feel like we did a lot better because of that. ... Our team was really positive to start out with and we played together. A lot of times when we get down on ourselves we don’t do as good. But I think this is our best game so far as a team. We played together a lot better than we usually do.”

Jacksonville (2-2), which was coming off a 3-0 loss at Ashley on Wednesday, struggled at times with its passing while leaving holes in its defense the Panthers were quick to exploit, whether it was with a sizzling over-the-top kill, a soft two-hand winner or a well-placed tip at the net.

“We played better than yesterday,” JHS first-year coach Detiny Ma’ave-Kuewa said. “Yesterday we were lacking in leadership, to be able to have a team work together and to communicate. They did that tonight. It’s just that East Duplin played smart. They were able to find holes that we weren’t able to ... adjust quickly to.”

Still, with the Cardinals opening Coastal 3-A Conference play on Tuesday at Richlands (1-4), Ma’ave-Kuewa felt the game would help the Cardinals prepare for league play.

“It’s good to play a team that’s smart and can just adjust to anything that’s given to them,” she said.

East Duplin didn’t trail in the first two sets, although in both it was tied 3-3 before the Panthers took control.

In the opening set, East Duplin went on an 18-6 run capped by Lakyn Hatcher’s ace and won the set on a shot out of bounds by the Cardinals. In the second set, JHS stayed within striking distance until the Panthers put together a 6-1 spurt to go up 16-10 behind four straight points by Toni Sinclair on a soft kill down the line, a first-hit winner, a return shot after her first was blocked and an ace.

The Cardinals led 7-5 in the third after a winner by Emily Thompson and a long shot by East Duplin. But the Panthers went up for good 8-7 on a net ball. While the Cardinals stayed close, the Panthers clinched the match when Medlin smacked the ball into a gap in Jacksonville’s defense after having her first hit blocked.

Like her coach, Medlin said this win should bolster the Panthers’ belief in themselves.

“I feel it’s a good confidence boost for us,” she said. “This is a good win for us.”

BEULAVILLE | This is how East Duplin coach Liz Turner wants – no expects – to see her Panthers play volleyball.

After a performance not up to her liking in a five-set victory at Wallace-Rose Hill on Tuesday, Turner sent her team through a tough practice, and the Panthers responded with solid 3-0 win over Jacksonville, beating the Cardinals 25-13, 25-18, 25-20 on Thursday night in a nonconference match.

“Tonight I think was an awesome game,” Turner said after her Panthers ran their record to 4-0. “Tonight was the type of game we really needed. We came off of a flat, five-set win over Wallace, and myself nor the girls were pleased with the way we played, our energy, our communication, really nothing about that game. All of our stat columns were really bad. and everything tonight was turned around.

“I have a young team that kind of struggles some with getting down on their selves. So it was a really good comeback game. This was a confidence boost that set the tone and standard for how we need to play from here on out, and what I expect. They saw more of my expectations tonight and they understood that better."

That understanding may have come Wednesday at practice.

“Against Wallace, it wasn’t our best game,” said junior Whitney Medlin, who had a game-high 12 kills. “We had a hard practice the other day and I feel like we did a lot better because of that. ... Our team was really positive to start out with and we played together. A lot of times when we get down on ourselves we don’t do as good. But I think this is our best game so far as a team. We played together a lot better than we usually do.”

Jacksonville (2-2), which was coming off a 3-0 loss at Ashley on Wednesday, struggled at times with its passing while leaving holes in its defense the Panthers were quick to exploit, whether it was with a sizzling over-the-top kill, a soft two-hand winner or a well-placed tip at the net.

“We played better than yesterday,” JHS first-year coach Detiny Ma’ave-Kuewa said. “Yesterday we were lacking in leadership, to be able to have a team work together and to communicate. They did that tonight. It’s just that East Duplin played smart. They were able to find holes that we weren’t able to ... adjust quickly to.”

Still, with the Cardinals opening Coastal 3-A Conference play on Tuesday at Richlands (1-4), Ma’ave-Kuewa felt the game would help the Cardinals prepare for league play.

“It’s good to play a team that’s smart and can just adjust to anything that’s given to them,” she said.

East Duplin didn’t trail in the first two sets, although in both it was tied 3-3 before the Panthers took control.

In the opening set, East Duplin went on an 18-6 run capped by Lakyn Hatcher’s ace and won the set on a shot out of bounds by the Cardinals. In the second set, JHS stayed within striking distance until the Panthers put together a 6-1 spurt to go up 16-10 behind four straight points by Toni Sinclair on a soft kill down the line, a first-hit winner, a return shot after her first was blocked and an ace.

The Cardinals led 7-5 in the third after a winner by Emily Thompson and a long shot by East Duplin. But the Panthers went up for good 8-7 on a net ball. While the Cardinals stayed close, the Panthers clinched the match when Medlin smacked the ball into a gap in Jacksonville’s defense after having her first hit blocked.

Like her coach, Medlin said this win should bolster the Panthers’ belief in themselves.

“I feel it’s a good confidence boost for us,” she said. “This is a good win for us.”